I Still Have Faith

The career numbers tell a modest but honest story. Five wins from 34 races works out at roughly 1 in every 7 — a 15% win rate that places this horse comfortably in the middle tier of the sport. Most of its racing life has been spent at Class 4 level, which is bread-and-butter competition in Britain, and even there it has won just 2 from 13, or about 1 in 6. That said, 16 places from 34 races shows a horse that is consistently thereabouts, even if the breakthrough moments have been rare. The recent form — finishing 8th, 2nd, 6th, 2nd, 5th, and 4th in the last six outings — paints a picture of a horse doing enough to be competitive without quite finding that extra gear to win.

What does stand out is its love of normal ground conditions. On a standard surface, it has won 4 of its 15 races — that is better than 1 in 4, and a noticeably sharper number than its overall record. Trainer Stuart Williams, based at Newmarket, clearly knows this about the horse. Williams has had a productive season — 67 winners sent out — and his comments give a sense of a trainer who understands what makes this horse tick. He has talked about the horse being full of speed and ability but sometimes struggling to channel it, particularly on different ground or at unfamiliar venues. The first career win came at Nottingham in July 2023, and the best moments have tended to come when conditions and track suit.

Williams once described a Newmarket win as "just a bonus" while eyeing a target race at Doncaster — a small detail that says a lot. This is a yard that plans carefully and picks its spots. With I Still Have Faith still active and racing, the question is whether, with the right ground underfoot and the right opportunity, there is one more winning day left in a horse whose name has always promised as much.